The Best of Both Worlds
by Emmy9
Summary: The Z-man and the D-girl get their groove on. What else can I say? Yet somehow this became a real story. O.o
1. The Best of Both Worlds

-The Best of Both Worlds-   
  
SMUT WARNING! Selected characters from FFIX will be getting it on, and in detail! Please ask the weak of heart and mind to please avert their eyes from the screen while fanfic viewing is in progress. Thank you.   
  
Anyway, hewwo! I don't know why I chose this type of fanfic to be my first, but ah well. I picked up this game again recently and I must have some pent up reason that is controlling my hands as I write.   
  
And yesh, I acknowledge that the characters in this story are in no way of my own creation. No infringement is intended on any part of Final Fantasy IX or any Squaresoft products.   
  
If you've gotten this far, please, enjoy! *wink* *wink*  
  
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Dagger rolled over and smacked her lips.   
  
"Mmmph," she heard behind her, followed by something squirming beneath her. She shot open her eyes and looked over her shoulder to discover a blonde-haired man staring up at her, and rather indignantly at that.   
  
"Trying to make a monkey pancake for breakfast, are we?" he remarked. The dim morning light had indeed permeated the queen's chambers. The light dazzled off of his damask cheek and flickered in his opal eyes, giving his entire complexion a divine glow. Zidane was gorgeous, but not in a conventional sense. His face was young and pretty, and his body type only appeared oddly-shaped and disproportionate under his usual attire, but Dagger had learned through her own eyes that Zidane possessed a lean, manly exterior and one that filled every space in his petite shirt and vest and baggy pants. Yes, he filled those pants quite nicely, she thought with a mental grin.   
  
They had been lovers for some time now since Zidane had returned from his ultimate heroic decision to save his arch-rival. During that time, Dagger had considered more carefully why he made that choice. It tore at her soul that Zidane would do something so stupid for someone who tried to irreversibly erase existence. She then came to the conclusion that although Kuja was decidedly evil, he was only reacting to a terrible wrong. His existence was for the sake destruction, his soul only meant to harbor a hunger for death. Surely, his rebellion against his parasitic race was no surprise. In fact, his rebellion proved that each person holds their own lives in their hands, regardless of what they had been predestined to do. No brother of Zidane should have to suffer a lonely death on the account of such courage.  
  
Also, the time gave her a chance to realize a gradual epiphany that had been planted in her ever since little Eiko asked her that serious question at the Water Shrine:   
  
"Do...you love...Zidane?"   
  
Eiko had asked it as if the answer was so simple. Dagger had later attributed the question to Eiko's immaturity. What could a six-year-old know about love and its intricacies? She felt the answer was more complex than what Eiko demanded. But over time, she realized it was that Eiko had the right idea all along. A child-like comprehension of love and its simplicity was the answer that Dagger had been seeking all along.   
  
Did she love Zidane?  
  
Yes.  
  
Suddenly Zidane rolled over onto her, then pulled her over so that she strattled his lap. Dagger giggled. He grinned.  
  
"I'm not in the mood for pancakes," he informed her playfully. He then entered her, and Dagger gasped at the sensation that pierced her. 'Everytime feels like the first,' she marveled to herself.   
  
Zidane then took her hands in his and led them behind her back. Wriggling his tail free from under him, he secured Dagger's wrists with it together at the small of her back, so that her arms draped loose behind her. She loved that tail, too.  
  
Zidane's hands then were then able to do as they pleased while she sighed with delight. At first he held her hips and took another thrust into her. Then another. As he began to thrust into her more rapidly, he moved his hands down and around to her lucious ass, the ass that had teased him through those tight yellow overalls during their adventures. He valued her much more than just for her ass, but he considered it a welcome benefit. He let it know with a firm squeeze.  
  
Dagger's expression had become injected with passion and need. She sighed more loudly when he began to move his hands upward along her sides and to her bouncing breasts that yearned for his gentle caress. She threw her head back and began moaning more audibly as he flicked his thumbs over her taut nipples. The sound possessed Zidane with need as he thrust into her faster and deeper. He then sat upright while pulling back on her hands with his tail, exposing her entire torso to his whims. He kissed across her collarbone and then down along her sternum. He hung a right and enclosed his mouth on her left nipple and sucked on it lightly before releasing it to flick it with his tongue. Dagger was moaning so loudly and regularly now. Zidane drew his mouth across to give the right nipple the same treatment. He was thrusting into her hard and fast now, his hands returning to her hips.  
  
"Oh, Zidane..." she moaned into his ear.  
  
This caused him to suddenly release her hands and flip her over, so that he was pounding into her as fast and as deeply as he could. Dagger's eyes shut themselves tightly as she awaited for bliss to erupt from her loins. Zidane then placed his forehead firmly against hers and demanded,  
  
"Open your eyes. Look at me."   
  
Dagger heard those sweet words and obliged. For a moment she thought she had awoke from a dream. All she saw before her was what seemed like the dazzling night sky wearing the moon as its pendant. She stared into his eyes, tears streaming down her own until her entire body was gripped with convulsions and waves of pleasure. Zidane had joined her.  
  
The Angel of Death. The Queen of Alexandria. The epitome of Terra's and Gaia's creation. Thus the best of both worlds merge to form one soul.   
  
The fusion of Terra and Gaia was thus made manifest.  
  
Zidane got up and scratched his ass.   
  
"So who wants pancakes?"  
  
~ ~ ~ fin ~ ~ ~  
  
Thank you, thank you! *takes a bow* Love it? Hate it? I'd love some feedback on my first fic. Hopefully it at least got your jollies going. Thanks for reading! 


	2. The Beginning

-The Beginning-  
  
Chapter 2! Yes! I made a chapter 2, in one day! I can't believe I'm continuing this! The next couple of bits may not be as hot as the first chapter, but there are many uses for that monkey tail, so we'll see! Haha!  
  
The same disclaimer still applies.  
  
Enjoy!   
  
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(About a year later...)  
  
Dagger walked up to the wooden bars of the cradle. She gazed down at the gorgeous sleeping infant, the product of eternal love. The baby unconsciously shifted in its sleep, flopping around its tail. The father approached from behind Dagger, placing two hands on her sides and gazing down at his dozing pride. He then turned and kissed Dagger on the cheek.  
  
"She's got a tail," Zidane remarked.  
  
"She's also got a bump in the center of her forehead. Maybe it'll develop into a horn?" Dagger wondered.   
  
"She's showing both of our species' traits...Does this mean she will inherit both of our strengths?"   
  
Dagger looked a tad worried at this. "It's still too early to tell, don't you think?" she said.  
  
"Of course," Zidane replied with a nod.  
  
Nodding and smiling, she left the baby at peace and they both returned to their quarters.   
  
- X - X - X - X -  
  
Some years passed, and the child's bump had bloomed into not a horn, but a dazzling, oval-shaped jewel smack in the middle of her forehead. It wasn't just his parents thought it was the most peculiar thing, for the esteemed Doctor Tot had expressed a deep scientific interest. However, it was agreed that the issue should be left alone until if and when it becomes a problem. But a few people, including Blank, Steiner, and Vivi, were assigned to keep her under casual surveillance, just in case.   
  
Then the day arrived.  
  
"Myria!" her best friend shouted. "Myria! Wait up!"  
  
She turned around. "C'mon, slowpoke! There's something I wanna show ya!"  
  
They ran and ran until Myria stopped short. Colin, her friend, slowed to a stop behind her.   
  
"C'mon!" she beckoned Colin to step beside her. He did, reluctantly. As soon as he was next to her, he gasped and stumbled back. He regained his courage, and stepped forward. They were on the edge of an enormous dropoff, and could see for miles outward. Myria looked down and pointed.  
  
"Down there is what mommy and daddy told me stories about. The Ebil Forest, I think." she said. Colin gulped.  
  
"I hear that the forest is gradually coming back to life, and that there are scary monsters that still inhabit it." Colin told her.   
  
"Bah! They couldn't be all that scary, if my mommy and daddy beat them! C'mon! Let's go explore!" Myria turned around and began climbing down the steep dropoff.  
  
"No! M-Myria! It's dangerous! Wh-Wh-What if we get caught? We'd be in big trouble!" Colin's voice trembled.  
  
"Don't worry! I just want to see what my mom and dad told me about! We'll be back by supper!" she reasoned.  
  
Colin looked over his shoulders cautiously. Then, he capitulated. "Well...alright, but only for lil' bit!" He extended his hand to help her down.  
  
As they were about halfway down the ledge, Colin began to struggle.   
  
"Myria! Help! I can't stay up!" he shouted. Myria looked up startled to see Colin dangling, then scraping his feet desperately for a good footing. Colin grunted and squirmed, until the rock broke in his hand. Myria screamed as she was knocked from her grip and both of them came crashing down into the thick forest. They fell to the grassy ground, scraped and cut but with their fall broken by the trees above them.   
  
A few minutes passed until they both began to stir. Myria lifted her head while Colin rubbed his.  
  
"Great! Now we're *really* in trouble!" Colin said. Silence struck them when a low, animal growl entered their ears. They looked at each other, their faces frozen in fear.  
  
"Wh-...What was THAT?" Myria asked.  
  
"A m-m-m-monster?" Colin guessed, sweat breaking from his face.  
  
Myria crawled slowly and quietly closer to Colin. "I'm scared," she whispered.   
  
Then, in the the dark bushes directly in front of them, two big, pupil-less red eyes appeared. Another growl and a hiss came from the darkness.   
  
"AHHHHH!!" Both children screamed, clutching one another in fright. The beast took a step forward toward the children into the light. Its shaded paws and mane revealed it to be a vicious Fang, hungry and unwilling to miss this opportunity for an easy meal. It began slinking forward toward the children, growling and slobbering.  
  
Colin looked at Myria, now crying, then the monster. Suddenly Colin raced forward to grab a sharp stick, then step backward carefully.  
  
"Back y-y-you, you monster!" He brandished his stick like a sword, his quivering body shielding Myria. The Fang had stopped to inspect the new situation. Then it threw its head back and barked loudly. A few seconds later, its comrades emerged from the brush all around them. The children were encircled, and then began closing in.   
  
Myria wrapped herself around one of Colin's legs and whimpered. Colin had frozen, besides his shaking arms still tightly attached to his stick. He then shook his head, and leap forward at a Fang with his stick.   
  
"TAKE THIS!" He brought the stick down over the monster's head with all the force he could muster. The stick shattered on its skull. The Fang was stunned for a moment, but easily shook it off. It growled, then jammed its snout under Colin and flung him away from Myria and toward its comrades. Colin flopped on the ground, Fangs instantly pouncing on him and violently tearing away at his clothes and flesh.   
  
Myria gasped and shreiked with horror. She then clutched her head in her hands and brought it down. Suddenly, her aura began emitting a bright light. All of the Fangs froze, even the ones attacking Colin, to turn their heads and look.   
  
Myria then began levitating, and she lifted her head to reveal the jewel in her forehead encased and radiating a powerfully brilliant white light.   
  
"Get...away...FROM HIM!" She shrieked through clenched teeth.   
  
"Star Shock!"   
  
The light she radiated contracted, built up, then discharged in a flash outward. The Fangs yelped but all of them were instantly vaporized. Myria floated back down and lightly fell back to the ground, where she remained unconscious like Colin, a few yards away.   
  
"Oh my god, what happened!"   
  
Zidane and Blank dropped through the trees and landed where the children lay.  
  
"MYRIA!" Zidane shouted as he gathered her in his arms.   
  
"Geez..." Blank whispered, already attending to the torn up and bloodied Colin. Zidane and Blank secured the children to their backs, and started to head back up the mountain.  
  
~ ~ ~ fin ~ ~ ~  
  
Looks like I decided to take your advice, Kiome-yasha! ^.~ What do you think? And what does anybody else think? I shall write more, should it be demanded! 


	3. The Voice

-The Voice-  
  
Chapter three! Go mee! ^.^ I can't believe my original smut fic is blossoming into an actual story! Thanks for the encouragement so far.  
  
Same disclaimer still applies.   
  
Enjoy!  
  
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Myria had arrived back in one piece. She had cuts and bruises on her, but nothing that wouldn't heal itself in a day or two. Colin, however, was not so fortunate.  
  
Colin was delivered in critical condition to his Alexandrian home. They had managed to clean him up a little before they got there, but his mother could not stifle her rage and worry.  
  
"Who DID THIS?" She shrieked continuously.  
  
"We don't know," said Blank, "we think he may have been attacked by animals."  
  
"Animals?! In this city?"  
  
"We found him in the Evil Forest. I had Blank keep a watch over Myria, who was playing with Colin." Zidane began. "What happened, Blank?"  
  
"Usually, Myria and Colin were good kids, never getting into trouble and always on time for meals. Up until today I only kept half an eye on them. They were playing until I had averted my gaze for a moment to talk with some buddies of mine. I looked back, and they had disappeared."  
  
"That doesn't explain what happened to my dear Colin!" the mother spewed.  
  
"Please, ma'am, allow me to finish." Blank said. She quieted down and he continued. "I searched everywhere, asked anybody, until some kids told me they saw them running toward the edge of the city. I assumed the worst, and decided to go get Zidane. We searched where the kids had pointed and noticed fresh footprints in the soil leading off the ledge. We lept down into Evil Forest, but we were too late. We brought Myria and Colin home, and now here we are."  
  
They all silently looked at Colin, whose chest rose and fell with an unhealthy weeze.   
  
"And the animals? What were they?" the mother asked.  
  
"I guess they were attacked by some sort of beast, perhaps a Fang, from what the bite marks look like." Blank explained.  
  
"You guess?" the mother said.  
  
Zidane looked up. "That was the odd thing. We encountered none when we arrived."  
  
Blank nodded, also suspicious.   
  
"And Myria?" the mother asked.  
  
"She only suffered some cuts and bruises. Apparently she wasn't harmed by what attacked them," Zidane answered. "Perhaps Colin fended it off?"   
  
"That's the only explanation I can think of," Blank said. "I never knew your boy was so brave, miss."  
  
The expression on the mother's face grew more sympathetic. She was proud of her boy. She nodded.   
  
"We will check with you regularly, ma'am, and I hope Colin has a speedy recovery," Blank told her with a gracious bow.   
  
Zidane yanked him out as they exited the doorway. "You're always soooo polite, yes, ma'am, sir," he mocked.   
  
"Shuddup, and maybe you should worry about your *own* diplomacy for your *own* wife!" Blank retorted.  
  
"Shit!" Zidane muttered. He was going to have to explain to Dagger pretty well what happened before she bit his head off. He took his time getting back to the castle.  
  
- X - X - X - X -  
  
Once there, he went to see his darling, napping daughter. He was glad she was okay, despite the odd circumstances of the event. He was gently stroking her face until he was forcefully yanked by his shirt back and around.  
  
"Dagger! Honey! Let me explain what happened..." he trailed off, knowing his head was in the figurative guillotine.   
  
"Dammit, Zidane! I thought my daughter was going to be watched at all times! But was she watched at all times? NO! She instead was allowed to fall over into one of the most dangerous places on the planet and nearly get ripped apart with that poor Colin!" She took a breath. "What if something worse had happened? What if she had been killed? What the hell was Blank doing at the time?"  
  
"Hey, before you go bashing Blank, consider what could and *would* have happened if Blank hadn't been around. He saved them both." Dagger considered this while allowing him to continue.  
  
"But Myria is safe, now," Zidane continued. "I doubt she'll be doing something like that again. What we should worry about instead is Colin. He's stable, but weak."  
  
"Yea, I heard about that." Dagger's voice had regained its serenity.   
  
"Blank and I weren't able to deduce much," Zidane continued. "Blank came and got me, and led us to where a kid he talked to pointed out earlier. We found fresh footprints on the ledge, so we followed them down. Sure enough, there was Myria, unconscious but with minor injuries, and Colin, not too far away, who was really messed up." He sighed. "We took them back up to Alexandria and delivered Colin to his home and Myria here. Blank felt we ought to talk to Colin's mom first, so that's what we did. Then I came back here."  
  
"But doesn't it seem odd that Colin was the only one brutally injured?" Dagger wondered.  
  
"Blank and I thought about that, and figured it must have been Colin who really saved the day. He must have took on whatever it was with his bare hands."  
  
Dagger nodded. "Then we'll get the best doctors to look after him."  
  
She gracefully removed herself from the room and down some stairs to instruct a serving girl on what to do. The girl bowed with a "Yes, Majesty," and hurried off to complete her task.   
  
A day later, Myria watched from her window the busling streets of Alexandria. Wheelbarrows of all sorts were being pushed through the markets. Kids of all sorts were playing tag. And conversations of all sorts were being tossed back and forth between people having lunch in the various cafes that jutted out into the streets. She turned to a teddy bear she had gotten from Eiko as a get well gift. Eiko, Myria learned, was a girl Zidane and Dagger had met on their trips around the world. She was a summoner as well. Since true peace settled over the land, Eiko stayed in Linblum, but visited Alexandria and the royal family regularly. Myria had learned to call her "big sis."   
  
Myria sighed. She grabbed the teddy bear next to her and held it under her chin.   
  
"What's wrong, dear?" Dagger approached from behind and sat on the window's ledge facing Myria. Myria turned.  
  
"Is Cowin awight?" she asked with a sniffle.   
  
"We're not sure yet." Dagger replied, turning her gaze out the window.   
  
Myria remembered the day before, when Colin had heroically and foolishly stepped between Myria and the Fangs that surrounded them. She could also remember him being cast aside and mauled by the other Fangs yards away. But after that, she couldn't call forth any memory until she woke up, safe in Alexandria. She shook her head.  
  
"He's not gonna die, is he?" she solemnly asked.  
  
"Oh, no!" Dagger said. "We're pretty certain he'll make it through. I sent the best doctors to take care of him."  
  
Myria nodded into her teddy bear. She then turned to look her mom straight in the eye.  
  
"What does it mean...to die?" she asked.   
  
Dagger was a bit startled. She took a minute to gather what she was going to tell her.  
  
"Death...to die...means that a person or thing ceases to function, that is, they...stop moving."  
  
Dagger wasn't sure why she brought up that euphanism she heard so long ago in the Black Mage Village. It really was a good way to put it for an impressionable mind.  
  
She continued. "But death isn't necessarily the end. The memories of those who have died are carried on, either by word-of-mouth, writings, and pictures."  
  
"Or a little of all," a voice interrupted.  
  
Zidane then knocked on the door to confirm his presence and smiled.   
  
"Any word on Colin?" Dagger asked for Myria.  
  
"He's on the comeback, but his mother still seems to be distraught over the incident. Apparently, her husband died before she gave birth to Colin. Ever since, she has only had Colin as company and has grown very attached to him."  
  
Myria heard that word again, "died". To stop moving? People stop moving when they sleep...but apparently it was a different kind of stop.   
  
"Did you hear that, Myria?" Dagger said. "Colin's getting better."  
  
Myria could only smile out of the corner of her mouth. She was too deep in thought to really care.  
  
Dagger got up. "Well," she began, "I have some work to do, honey, so be good." Dagger walked halfway to the exit where Zidane had already departed from. Then, she turned around to add, "And I want you to stay in the castle for the next couple of days."  
  
Myria whipped her head around. "Mommy??"  
  
"I want to make sure that you have learned your lesson from yesterday. You had mommy and another person's mommy very, very worried. Just promise me." Dagger said.  
  
Myria turned around and sunk her chin into her bear. She mumbled, "Awight."  
  
Dagger nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Myria then lept from her seat onto her bed with her teddy bear in hand. She stared into its black, beady eyes. As she gazed, she began to shut her eyes wearily. As she was drifting off to sleep, a whisper struck her ear...  
  
"Myria..."  
  
~ ~ ~ not fin! ~ ~ ~  
  
Woo! Chaptah 3! I do hope you all read on when I complete more! 


	4. Destiny

-Destiny-   
  
Another chapter! I hope you folks are still with me. ;)  
  
[The usual disclaimer goes here]  
  
Enjoy!   
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Myria awoke gradually. Was someone calling her name?   
  
"Myria..."  
  
She gazed toward the door. No one there.  
  
"Myria..."  
  
She got up and looked around outside her window. No one.   
  
"Myria..."  
  
She then turned to the teddy bear. She sat on her bed, grabbed it, and set it facing her on her lap. She peered into its black eyes. The bear didn't move, but the teddy's eyes began to faintly glow.  
  
"Teddy...?"   
  
"Your destiny..." the bear started.  
  
"Teddy! How can you speak!" she wondered.  
  
"I am an...old friend...of your father's. I must speak with you."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"You are still young, but your power is already beginning to grow. You are...you will become...too big for this world,"  
  
"What?" Myria looked at the teddy inquisitively.  
  
"Perhaps it is too early, but your destiny has already taken root..." the teddy bear silenced, and its eyes reverted to black.  
  
She shook the bear. "Teddy! I don't understand!"   
  
The door to her room then swung open, revealing the great general Beatrix.  
  
"Myria, it's time for dinner," she said, as she paralleled herself against the wall to preemptively let the child past.   
  
Instead, Myria jumped off the bed and grabbed one of her arms.  
  
"Auntie! Auntie Beatrix! Teddy was talking to me!" Myria said, exasperated.  
  
Beatrix looked down on her with a puzzled look. "I think it was your imagination," she said.   
  
"No! It was real! Teddy moved and everything!"  
  
"C'mon, dear, you know that's nonsense." Beatrix walked over to the teddy bear and lifted it under its arms. She looked at it, shook it a little, but go no response.   
  
"See? Your teddy bear isn't alive." she confirmed.   
  
Myria sighed in defeat. "He was..."  
  
She then trudged out of her room and to the dining hall. She climbed into her seat and slumped.  
  
Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, and Beatrix had also gathered around to dine. They all eyed Myria curiously in response to her loud body language. A dead silence enveloped them like a thick blanket.  
  
Dagger stuck a morsel in her mouth and swallowed it. As though it were a morsel of courage, Dagger finally looked up at Myria. "Anything wrong, dear?" She asked.   
  
Myria poked at her food and didn't respond.  
  
"She thinks her teddy bear spoke to her," Beatrix answered for her.  
  
Dagger quirked a brow at the general. "Spoke?" she asked.  
  
"It really did talk!" Myria suddenly burst with.  
  
Dagger looked at Zidane, who was looking at Myria curiously, almost as if he believed her. He then looked over at Dagger with a grin, lined with mashed food particles.   
  
Chewing, he said "Hey, you wanna check it out after we're done here?"  
  
Dagger didn't see the harm, so she agreed.   
  
After the meal, Myria, Dagger, and Zidane went to Myria's room. They approached the bear, still sitting up against the bed pillow with its head leaning to one side. Zidane moved in close to examine it.   
  
"What did the voice sound like?" He asked, poking the bear's belly.  
  
"It was..." Myria tried to find the words. "...growly, like an old man's." Zidane furrowed a brow.   
  
"What did it say?" Zidane asked.  
  
"Something about my destiny..." she trailed off.   
  
"Yes? Go on."  
  
"Um, something about being to big for this world, and that it was too early."  
  
This time Dagger furrowed a brow.  
  
"And then?" Zidane encouraged.  
  
"I can't remember what else...and then it stopped. Is it dead?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not sure I yet believe that it was alive to die in the first place, dear." Dagger said, placing her hands on Myria's shoulders. Myria sighed.  
  
Zidane shook his head. "Well, Myria, how about this. If the bear talks again, let us know about it, okay?" Myria nodded. Zidane smiled as he left the room to allow Dagger and Beatrix change Myria into her pajamas.  
  
- X - X - X -  
  
The next day, Myria crept down the stairs gingerly. She was resolved to escape and go outside, and to see Colin.   
  
The stairs opened up and she glanced left and right. She caught her breath and squashed herself against the stone as a patrolling guard casually walked by. Myria took the opportunity to creep further down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she looked to where the guard had her back turned. Myria then dashed around the railing and crouched on the opposite side of the stairs, out of the guard's view. The guard spun around. She scanned the area before her. Not detecting any abnormality, she began strolling forward, past the stairs, and past Myria. Stifling a giggle, Myria quietly evaded the guard. She eluded many in this way, until she reached the outdoors.  
  
Myria flew down Colin's street. She looked around, trying to identify his residence. She then glanced at a house with a door that was adorned with a get well wreath. She then recognized the house's shape as that of Colin's. She ran up and knocked on the door.  
  
No answer.  
  
She knocked louder.  
  
No answer.  
  
She pushed the door, and it swung open a little. It was dark inside, and no candles were lit. She tiptoed in and tried her best to pierce the darkness with her sight. She opened the door wider to let in more sunlight. That gave her enough light to open an adjacent window. The house was then lit well enough to navigate through. The house looked to have been ransacked; clothes and trinkets were scattered everywhere, drawers left open, and the smell of rotting food wafted through the household.  
  
"Colin?" she whispered. Her gaze shot to a soiled bedsheet on an unmade bed.   
  
"They're gone," a voice behind her answered.  
  
She gasped and spun around to see a relatively large silhouette blocking the doorway. She then saw the flicker of a tail behind it.   
  
"Daddy?" She looked up at him.  
  
The frame nodded. "They left some time ago, for Lindblum. The mother must have been more shook by her son's injury than she let on. But I think this was for you," Zidane handed her a slip of paper with words scribbled on it. Myria looked down at it.  
  
Zidane kneeled down to help her. "It says:   
  
-- Dear Myria,  
  
We're leaving for Lindblum.   
  
My mom says she doesn't want   
  
me around you anymore. But I'll   
  
become a thief one day, so that   
  
I can sneak by her and come visit   
  
you one day! See ya!   
  
- Colin"  
  
Myria looked up at Zidane inquisitively. She didn't quite grasp the full meaning.  
  
"In other words," Zidane tried to think of a good way to phrase it. "Colin moved away. He's gone from Alexandria. You may not be able to play with him at all anymore, but when you two are older, you can visit each other as much as you want. In fact, I'll see to it you do."  
  
Myria still had a look as though this new information was still settling, which it was. Zidane touched her shoulder.  
  
"C'mon, we gotta get you back to the castle before mom finds out." He grinned. Myria smiled a little, then hopped onto his back for a piggyback ride. They left the house and made their way toward the castle and its shimmering sword.  
  
~ ~ ~ X ~ ~ ~  
  
Yea I know, short and boring, but it'll pick up! I promise! I'm just not sure where I'm going to go with this story yet. I suppose it's my punishment for starting an impromptu epic. Hehe. I've started the next chapter, so I hope you all are still with me! ^.^ 


	5. A New Age

-A New Age-  
  
Holy. Crap. FINALLY! Thank you to all who have reviewed, for I assure you, your encouragement hasn't fallen on deaf ears! I had a writers' block, then school bogged me down. You know how it is.   
  
The play Tantalus performs in this chapter is inspired by one of Shakespeare's plays. That's all I'll say, I hope some of you will know it. ;) And sorry if I get some names or other things wrong, it's been a while since I've played FFIX...  
  
On with the show!   
  
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Months passed. Then years. Colin never did visit. And the teddy bear never spoke again.  
  
Ten years went by. Eventually, both Colin and the bear passed out of Myria's waking memory. But she had changed. She was sixteen years old, and had grown out of her childhood naivete. She became aloof, even brooding. Many would attribute it to the emotional rollercoaster that is teenagehood, but a twinkle in her eye hinted at an ambitious, even sinister nuance to her moods.   
  
For the most part, however, she got along with her parents. The adventures Zidane and Dagger had given them a reference for talking with their daughter. Myria trusted their wisdom. She was taught fighting skills by both her parents and her friends. Soon, Myria became antsy. Despite the fact that Zidane and Dagger prided themselves on their tales, they would hypocritically not allow Myria outside the castle, much less Alexandria, to gather her own experiences. She wanted to be respected by her parents, but also feared that her time was coming.   
  
During that time, a mysterious vigilante had been dashing through the nights, leaving crooks and vandals tied up for the Alexandrian guard to pick up. The guard wanted the capture of this individual, despite the obvious good intention that came from them. The posters had a markup of what the captured criminals described as a feminine figure with an opaque, crystal-like mask attached to a helmet with two long drooping feathers on either side. It was said to wield blades like dragon teeth on its knuckles, and move like a shadow. The reward was reasonable enough to attract attention.   
  
Later that year, a new show was going to hit Alexandria. The new Prima Vista was making its debut after the last one was abandoned for its old age. The newer model's design and build was overlooked by Cid himself. It was made from the richest wood, the planks almost wet with its sanguine pigment. It was built more slender and streamlined, with large rotors oscillating beneath it. The ship had a much bigger stage, and included more set. The only think the same was the resting mermaid on its prow.   
  
The day finally came. The Vista Redux, as it was called, guided itself silently into Alexandria and to the castle theater dock.  
  
The royal family was there to greet it among the many nobles and commoners who cheered wildly. The ship docked with an audible shudder. There would be a few moments before the play was ready to begin, so the crowd amused themselves with trivial banter until then. Myria was in the princess's seat, overlooking the crowd and the large ship. She then tilted her head down.   
  
Dagger happened to glance at her to make sure she was alright. She saw the peculiar expression and suddenly felt something like deja vu hit her. She furrowed a brow.   
  
"Something the matter?" she asked.  
  
Myria looked up, startled. "N-no." She said. "I'm fine mother, just a little tired."  
  
"Did you stay up late?"  
  
"No...not really."  
  
"Well, I found your window open again this morning. You have to rememeber to close it or else someone or something could get in, like that vigilante,"  
  
Myria shrugged with a small, hidden smirk. "Yes, mother, I'll try and remember."  
  
The final curtain drew, and there was Baku. Even after ten years, he hadn't changed much. He was still as whiskered and rotund as ever.   
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, nobles and rooftop viewers, and the forever enduring roses of our royal family," he bowed, "tonight we present for you: 'Caliginous Love'!"  
  
The crowd deluged them with applause. The house lights dimmed, and the spotlights illuminated the stage. Two figures emerged from stage left, a man and a woman.   
  
"Marcus!" the woman shouted toward the man. He spun around.  
  
"Lydia!"   
  
She stopped before Marcus.  
  
"Well?" Marcus asked her.  
  
She shook her head, then lowered it.  
  
"Lydia..." he said, shaking his head. "How can I trust you if you keep failing something so simple?"  
  
"She simply will have none of you, sire."  
  
"Well, dammit, that's just no good. In a week's time I want you to go back and try again."  
  
"Marcus...why do you keep after such sour grapes?" Lydia protested.  
  
"Because her kingdom is sitting on a fountain of wealth, yet she either doesn't know or doesn't care to share it. I will make her," he hissed.   
  
Lydia's face belied her distraught emotions. Coldy, she nodded and spoke, "If it is your wish, sire. I will try again," then took her leave, exiting the stage.   
  
"Perhaps a gift will suade her. A lovely, precious gift, nothing like even the finest diamonds. I know of one jewel..." the actor trailed off, but no sooner had he finished the stage began to fill with stage smoke. Then the audience. Then the mist engulfed the entire auditorium, and it was soon very difficult to see your own hands in front of your face. Queen Garnet had become very anxious, not sure if this was part of the play, and Myria had grown concerned as well.   
  
Then, in the corner of her eye, Myria saw a figure emerge from the mist before her mother. In a gleam and a swipe, it had severed the jewel from her mother's neck and escaped in a blur. Dagger clasped her bare neck, her teeth clentching in fury. She then turned to her daughter and began,  
  
"Myria, I want you to go to your chambers an-" she stopped, seeing only an empty throne. Dagger then picked herself up and marched toward the castle doors and threw them open.  
  
"SOUND THE ALARM! I WANT ALL ENTRANCES TO THE CITY BLOCKADED! NO ONE MAY LEAVE OR ENTER THE CITY UNTIL THE FALCON CLAW IS FOUND! KNIGHTS!"  
  
Beatrix jogged up at her Queen's command, followed by Steiner who clanged and clammored to the Queen and knelt at her feet. "Yes, ma'am! We will be sure to retrieve your pendant." Beatrix calmly asserted. The two then saluted simultaneously and darted off.   
  
Behind Dagger, a curly-tailed simian dropped down. Dagger turned around slowly, allowing her vulnerability to surface only around her love.  
  
"Zidane, I swear, we're going to bolt that thing down once we get it back." She then fell into his arms.  
  
Zidane chuckled. "Even then it'd probably find a way of losing itself."  
  
Dagger looked up. "Speaking of lost, do you know where Myria is?"  
  
Zidane furrowed his brow. "Hmm, nope..." he trailed, now applying a thumb and index finger below his chin as he searched his brain.  
  
"Could you look for her? I've gotta get out of this damn thing," she bunched up her dress and sighed.  
  
The monkeyman gave her a peck on the forehead and threw an 'Of course' behind him as he bounded off.  
  
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The boy skipped across the rooftops like a frog over lilypads. He juggled an iridescent, multi-faceted object in his clutches and couldn't get over how easy it was to snatch such a valuable royal heirloom.   
  
'Thought that Queen had more to her than that.' He smirked.  
  
The smirk was thrown from his face as a sharp pain peirced the back of his skull. He was propelled forward and over his heels into a field of roof shingles. He slowly lifted his indignant, bruised face from the crater he had made. He spat blood from his mouth, then bolted around to face what had struck him, only to observe a silhouetted, masked figure towering over him.   
  
"Give it back," was all it demanded.  
  
The boy looked at the figure, then to the pendant he grasped in his hand, then back to the figure. He then deliberately reached out to offer the pendant back. As the masked figure came close to grab it, the boy smirked and kicked a broken shingle into its face. The figure cried out as the surprise knocked it off its feet.  
  
Not wasting any time, the boy fled. He dropped to the streets below to try and obscure his location in the crowds of Alexandrians. 'Who, rather what the hell was THAT?' he thought to himself, looking behind him as he ran. This turned out to be another mistake. His thoughts were once again interrupted by a blur and a sharp pain, this time to his lower throat region. He opened his eyes and stared down a long leg to the masked demon he thought he had evaded. He then grasped the foot that was pinning him to the wall.  
  
"Give it back," was all it demanded.  
  
"What the hell..." the boy muttered, followed by a groan as he felt a deliberate increase in pressure on him. He noted that the crowd had encircled them and were delighting themselves with the spectacle. No one of course, had the figurative balls to intervene.   
  
"Come on, can't we make some sort of mutual agreement?" he said, shuffling slightly. Now, of course, the boy was genuinely worried. But this fueled the need for diplomacy, and a distraction.  
  
The figure breathed out a laugh. "An agreement?" a distorted, feminine voice asked rhetorically. "Yea, you give me the pendant, and I'll let you go without a sound beating."  
  
The boy squirmed more. "Why, so you can claim it for yourself? I've seen the posters! You're no different from me!" he spat.  
  
With that, he withdrew a vial from his pocket and threw it at the masked figure. The vial burst and smoke billowed all around them. The figure was suddenly swept up and fell on its back once again. It stood up immediately. "Damn, smoke screen," it said, fanning the smoke from its face before leaping skyward onto the rooftops.  
  
The boy had since booked it over the neighborhoods of disfigured adobes. He reached a decrepit belltower and decided to hide in it until he could catch his breath.   
  
He crept into the dark turret, looking up toward the bell, which was about 10 feet above him. He sighed, and hid himself among discarded planks of wood that were propped every which way. While his breathing slowed, he took out his shiny treasure and gazed at it.   
  
Suddenly, the turret roof seemed to explode as someone dropped in from above. They landed with a thud, knees bending completely as they absorbed the impact. The figure rose slowly, unfurling itself. The boy sat frozen in the shadows, his eyes like saucers when he saw that same masked face lift itself from the torso. The face rotated, scanning the room for any sign of its target. The boy was saturated with adrenaline, but he couldn't make up his mind whether or not he feared this creature. He knew if he revealed his location he'd lose his mission and a probably a few days in the hospital, but he wanted to understand what he was feeling, too.  
  
"HYYYAAA!"   
  
The figure looked up sharply as another one descended with two shiny daggers before it. They collided against the masked figure's claws with a clang, and both figures recoiled to regain footing.   
  
"Be you human or monster, fiend?" the daggered one shouted.   
  
"Monsters belong under beds, Zidane, but if you interfere, you'll find their company much more amicable," the masked figure retorted.  
  
Zidane lunged at the figure, and their blades locked with a cling. "Oh? And just what would I be interfering?" he asked. He lifted their blades up, then took the opportunity to swipe at the figure's midsection. The figure dodged gracefully with a tumble to the side.   
  
"Justice! That boy with your beloved's pendant is probably miles out of the city by now. I would have caught him!" the figure returned.  
  
"How did you know the pendant was stolen by that little creep? Are you an accomplice? And Alexandrian guards aren't that incompetent. Not all of them. I hate to break it to you: your vigilante work is fascinating to me, but not necessary."   
  
"Give me a break," it chuckled. "I have no need for accomplices, except for Lady Justice. I've caught more thieves and murderers than all of your troops combined, so don't think you can bullshit me. If you truly think my work is 'unnecessary', then you don't give a damn about this country at all!"  
  
"How dare you..." Zidane began, then he lunged at the figure once more, but stopped short of an unexpected obstacle that had lept between them.  
  
The boy stood before Zidane, arms spread. "Don't come any closer!" he ordered. His eyes darted beside him and snatched up a jagged piece of debris that had fallen with part of the ceiling. He held it before him in a defensive stance.  
  
The figure was taken aback. 'Why would this boy try to defend me? Crazy kid.' Yet somehow, this situation was familiar.  
  
Zidane sheathed his daggers and held up both gloved hands. "Hey now, I'm honestly not trying to hurt anyone here. I just want the pendant and my little girl back," he stated, moving toward the boy.   
  
"I said STAY BACK!" the boy shouted. He lifted his weapon above his head to bring it down on Zidane's skull, but his hands were caught above his head. He struggled, but resigned when the masked figure, who was holding his clasped hands, stood before him.  
  
The figure let go of his hands, then brought its own beneath its ruby mask. It flicked something, and the lower portion of the mask dislodged from the helmet.  
  
The figure lifted the helmet off...  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED! AHAHAHA! I'm ebil. Hope you enjoyed this one, stay tuned! 


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